Reading all these threads about tires and wheels has me wondering about
something. My other vehicle is a BMW E39, a 528it, which is classified as a
high-performance sport wagon. On the sportier cars that I have owned, which
is not many, nor am I any kind of expert on the subject, it has seemed to
me that it was desirable to have lighter wheels to improve handling. I may
be completely off-base here, but I'll say that up front.

I seem to recall bits and pieces of wheel/tire threads here over the years
that talk positively about the weight/strength of the Vanagon's steel
wheels. Now, my interest is in what my '87 Westy should be shod with. I
already know of Dennis's preference for wheels. Nothing personal, Dennis,
but those aren't quite my style. I do like the Merc wheels...

Here's what I'm wondering about: Can you, or should you, get alloy wheels
that are lighter than the OEM steel ones? Would they be stronger or weaker?
How do you spec out the correct combination of weight/strength of wheels
for a Westy? There's been lots of discussion about stud spacing and offset,
and the hole in the middle being the right/wrong size, which I'm still not
totally clear on. I've tried reading the tire and wheel article on
vanagon.com, which I can't seem to get to just now (error_500), but it's
still kind of a mystery as to how you find the right wheel for your needs.

Thanks for all the light you all have shed on this discussion. I thought I
had the perfect combination of tires (Michelin) and shocks (KYB), but the
tires are worn out and I can't get replacements and I think the shocks are
finally going. Evidence is things rattle more! :) The bounce test never
seems to reveal anything to me.

Marc P.